Natural teeth may be lost as a result of dental diseases or trauma making it desirable for replacement with a dental implant. A dental implant may be surgically positioned within the mandibular or maxillary alveolar bone. A screw hole may be drilled in the mandibular or maxillary alveolar bone for fixing the dental implant in the bone.
When drilling through the mandibular or maxillary alveolar bone, the oral surgeon has to decide on a drilling axis for the implant, while being aware to avoid contact between the drill burr and the adjacent soft tissue. Generally, the decision may be made based on the surgeon's knowledge of the jawbone structure into which the implant is to be inserted, the position of the nerve tissues within the jawbone structure, and the surface area of the gum on which the dental implant must be placed. Different techniques, such as X-ray imaging, computer tomography (CT) and panoramic imaging may be utilized to assess the jawbone structure, the position of the nerve tissues, and the surface area of the gum.
The imaging methods mentioned above are generally considered for pre-surgical assessment of implant sites and do not provide the surgeon with required information in real time during surgery.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for methods and devices for interactive determination of a proximity of the drill burr to a region of change in bone structure, or a change from bone structure to adjacent soft tissue.